Sambalpur: A new hostel of a state-run engineering institute in Sambalpur district will be converted into a 500-bed hospital for treating COVID-19 patients, officials said Tuesday.
Work on converting an unused hall of residence of the Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Burla into a COVID-19 hospital is in progress and the medical facility is expected to be ready soon, a senior official said.
Sambalpur Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Suryanarayan Dash said the medical establishment will be equipped with all facilities required in a COVID-19 hospital, including 50 ICUs with ventilator facilities.
“Doctors and paramedical staff of Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR), Burla, will treat patients in the new medical facility,” Dean and Principal of VIMSAR, Brajamohan Mishra said.
Mishra said the district administration is carrying out work on the new facility and will hand it over to them once it is completed.
Two isolation wards have been set up at VIMSAR and the state government is planning to establish a laboratory in the institute for testing samples of persons suspected to be infected with coronavirus, he added.
(PTI)